When his corps commander decided upon an attack, and picked the division that Upton was a part of, his division commander made a mature decision. He put Emory Upton in charge.

Emory Upton had a whopping 24 years under his belt this spring. A West Point graduate, he was to the Army what a Jesuit monk was to the Catholic Church 200 years before -- a true believer, educated, and devoted to the mission. He was, at this point, a colonel. When I was 24 I was happy to be a first lieutenant. But Upton was the right man at the right time.

When his corps commander decided upon an attack, and picked the division that Upton was a part of, his division commander made a mature decision. He put Upton in charge.

Think about that. Think about the maturity that it takes for a much older man to confess to himself, and essentially the world, "This young man knows more than me, and in this issue of life and death, he should be the one in charge. The mission has the best chance of success if he is the commander, not me."

But the decision was the right one. Emory Upton, Colonel, knew his business. By the end of the war he would have commanded artillery, infantry, and cavalry. More importantly he thought about his business, and his business was leading men and killing the enemy. He had a plan. Note to self: Do not underestimate 24-year-olds who actually have a plan. Dreams are one thing, plans are another. Upton personifies that difference.

But Emory only commanded one brigade, so how was he to break through? Remember what I said about entrenchments? The confederates had been stationary for the better part of two days already, so the entrenchments were well and fully completed. Upton would have his work cut out for him, but he was given the assets. It turns out that not only the division commander, but also the corps commander, believed in this young man. He would not lead an assault of just his unit, he would have 12 entire regiments, essentially the equivalent of a division, working to his plan.

Upton took this mission seriously and professionally. Early on this past Saturday the 10th of May (it was not a Saturday in 1864, but roll with me) he took all 12 regimental commanders up to the front line for a reconnaissance. That alone sets Upton apart. But then he went and took the next step. He talked through the plan, in detail, with all of those commanders until everyone knew what they were to do. Again, unique. He took the time to explain how, and why, each regiment would perform their duties. His concept was simple, but it was also a break from tradition.

Normally an infantry assault is preceded by artillery hammering the defensive position, then long lines of infantry move forward, on-line, firing as they move. Upton tossed that part of the rulebook out of the window. Instead of lining up 12 regiments across, he had found a spot in the Union lines where the treeline was only about 200 yards from the rebel earthworks. They had 200 yards to cross, and in Upton's mind, they should cross it without firing, rush into the entrenchments, and then start killing. He would line the regiments three across, with four deep. The first line was to break in, the second line to go deep, the third line to expand the shoulders, and the fourth line in reserve.

It was an early answer to the riddle of the trenches that would bedevil armies between 1914 and 1918, and it worked.

Near the end of the day on the 10th of May, Upton led the assault and his new tactic did exactly what he said it would. The Americans charged, with only the front rank regiment having firing-caps fitted, and they did exactly as Upton planned. Caught flat-footed and taken by surprise the lead regiments shattered the rebels, the following regiments expanded the gap, the third line made the indentation deeper, and the fourth line stood ready. And then, nothing.

They got no support. There they were, having ripped a hole in the rebel lines at very little cost, and then nothing followed. Eventually the rebels got reorganized and started to react. The Americans were pushed, and compressed. The created the hole so the Americans so desperately needed, and then they had to give it up, because Grant and Meade were not prepared for this unexpected success. But with that assault and the temporary victory it gained Grant learned a false lesson. If it worked on this scale, then it could work on a much larger scale as well. And that is what he will try tomorrow.

The opinions here are those of the author and not the DoD, the Army, or any unt he is affiliated with. I can be reached at R_Bateman_LTC@hotmail.com.

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